The SPDR Select Sector Utilities ETF, a primary benchmark for the S&P 500's power segment, has now retreated more than 4% since the start of the year. Investors are pivoting away from capital-intensive utility stocks as rising yields make fixed-income assets more attractive by comparison.

Despite the sector-wide downturn, some individual players bucked the trend. Shares of the Spanish power giant Iberdrola climbed following confirmation that the European Union cleared its $2.3 billion acquisition of the Finnish utility Caruna. This strategic expansion offers a rare pocket of optimism in an otherwise bearish climate for the industry.